Mumbai, August 22: The special investigation team (SIT) for Badlapur sexual assault against minors has registered an FIR against the school authorities for not complying with the provisions of section 19 of the POCSO Act, which mandates that every authority when they come to know about any such kind of sexual assault against minors are obligated to report this to police authorities for further action, said SIT.
The school authorities did not inform the police, and that is why the school authorities have been booked under section 21 of the POCSO Act, which is punishment for violation of section 19 of the same Act, stated SIT. The SIT recorded the statements of both the minor victims and their parents, added SIT.
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Earlier, amid the violent protests in Maharashtra, the Bombay High Court took suo motu cognizance of the Badlapur incident. The matter was heard in the court on Thursday by a division bench of Justice Revati Mohite Dere and Justice Prithviraj Chavan.
The alleged sexual assault of two fourth-grade girls at a school in Maharashtra's Badlapur has sparked outrage. On August 17 police arrested an attendant of the school for allegedly abusing the girls. This incident has created massive outrage among the people in Badlapur.
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (MSCPCR) has recommended the establishment of special branches or "mini-police stations" for women and children in every police station across the state. This development came in the wake of an alleged delay in the police's registration of the crime in Badlapur. Chairperson Susieben Shah shared a detailed plan in this regard during a press conference in Mumbai on Wednesday.
Shah stated that currently, police stations have Women's Help Desks, Special Juvenile Police Units, and Child Welfare Police Officers. However, these units are not dedicated solely to addressing complaints from women and children, often leading to the unavailability of trained personnel when needed. Officers in these units are frequently assigned to other duties, causing delays in registering and investigating complaints.
The Crime Branch units in police stations are exclusively reserved for investigating crimes. This ensures that officers are not diverted to other duties and that their sole responsibility is to investigate and solve crimes efficiently.